Written Answers

Monday 16 October 2000

Scottish Executive

Exam Results

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe copies of all the tender documents for the contract to conduct an investigation into the handling of this year’s exams, in particular the letter or other document specifying the remit of the inquiry, any other specific instructions and the proposed contract terms.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Tender documents are commercially sensitive and it is therefore not the practice of the Scottish Executive to make them public. The terms of reference for the independent review being carried out by Deloitte & Touche have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Exam Results

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date Deloitte & Touche were appointed to carry out the independent inquiry into the exams crisis.

Mr Sam Galbraith: As I announced to Parliament in my statement on 6 September ( Official Report , col. 25), Deloitte & Touche were appointed on 5 September.

Exam Results

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe a copy of the contract under which Deloitte & Touche have been appointed to conduct the independent inquiry into the handling of this year’s exam results.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The contract with Deloitte & Touche is commercially sensitive and it is therefore not the practice of the Scottish Executive to make this public.

Gaelic

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that there will be a Gaelic news broadcast following the announcement by Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig that it will not renew the Grampian Television contract when it expires on 31 December 2000.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig is considering options for television news and current affairs following its decision on Telefios. There is already a Gaelic news service on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, which will now be available on the Internet.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any records exist of its quarterly liaison meetings with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) since March 1999 which contain more detailed information than the minutes made available to the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee; whether any such records are held by the Scottish Executive or the SQA, and whether it will place copies of any such records in SPICe.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-9937 on 2 October.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe copies of all the letters or other representations which it received from schools and colleges reporting difficulties with the electronic transfer of information to the Scottish Qualifications Authority or other aspects of the handling of this year’s exams, referred to by the Minister for Children and Education in his statement to the Parliament on 6 September (Official Report, col. 21).

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer Mr Ewing to the written evidence submitted by the Executive to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee as part of its inquiry into this year’s exam results, in particular to paragraph 4.17 of the Education Department’s Memorandum (which is available through SPICe and the Parliament website). It is not the practice of the Scottish Executive to publish correspondence which falls outwith the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.